The digital age has hit video game collecting hard in recent years, with many games now digital-exclusives.

Whilst in past eras every video game was available at retail, that's no longer the case, with numerous games being lost to time entirely for various reasons (P.T. and the Scott Pilgrim video game, to name a few.)

Luckily, there has been somewhat of a resurgence as of late, with multiple companies printing low-print runs of physical games for the PlayStation 4 that were previously only available digitally.

Sony allowing companies to publish small print runs of games has undoubtedly made the PS4 an incredibly exciting prospect for collectors - myself included.

There's an awful lot to keep track of if you don't want to miss out on rare video games, and if you're new to collecting, there's tons you may have unfortunately already missed.

Signature Edition

Signature Edition are an online-only company that produce exclusive limited edition physical game releases.

Whilst some of their releases already have standard editions at retail, the catch for Signature Edition is that theirs contain soundtrack CDs, art books and are emblazoned with printed-on signatures from the game's developers.

As a company that frankly hasn't received much attention, even within collector social circles, you can guarantee that these limited editions are super rare, although no specific print number is stated.

Vblank Entertainment

Vblank's first physical run of Retro City Rampage DX is often considered the rarest PS4 game ever

Much like Limited Run Games, Vblank is a developer turned publisher, with two physical small-print PS4 runs to date. In fact, Vblank may have even begun the limited run craze.

Their first release, Vblank's very own game Retro City Rampage DX, was certainly the rarest PS4 game available at the time. Although a second run with a different cover has since been released, the initial 2,000 print run is still a sought after collector's item.

Having since published a very limited release of another developer's game, and with Vblank's own title Shakedown Hawaii due out soon, it's safe to say we can expect to see more physical runs in the future.

iam8bit

iam8bit are a bit like Fangamer, in that they're a video game merchandise distributor turned video game distributor, with just as many licenses under their belt.

They started off with a retail version of REZ Infinite, a PS VR compatible remaster of a beloved classic. As such, it goes without saying that it's now considered to be one of the rarest PS4 titles available.

Play-Asia

As well as being a great site for importing retail games exclusively released in Asia, Play-Asia have more recently been publishing their very own limited physical games.

Eastasiasoft's library has been getting the limited Collector's Edition treatment, with games including Blue Rider, Ghost Blade HD and RIVE - the latter of which also received a Limited Run Games release.

Their Collector's Editions tend to include a soundtrack CD, an art book and a numbered certificate, making them one of the better limited run packages available on the market.

Limited Run Games

Saturday Morning RPG was Limited Run Games' first of many PS4 releases

Limited Run Games is the undisputed king of limited release gaming, having pushed the idea forward in the first place and signing up more video games than all of the others on this list combined.

Usually listing several games every month, Limited Run releases are numbered on the spine, making their entire library incredibly collectible. Some titles have variant covers or Collector's Editions.

Their first limited PS4 release, Saturday Morning RPG, is probably their most sought after as collectors weren't keeping an eye on the publisher at the time.

All of their games double or triple in price virtually immediately though, with their own stock usually selling out within minutes of being listed. If you're going to collect only one publisher's library on this list, make it this one.

It should be noted that a select few of these titles were picked up by Western limited run publishers, but their original Asian releases tend to have different cover artwork.

Most of the games listed support English subtitles or even English dialogue, so there a few titles you should consider to include in your physical game collection that a lot of other Western collectors may be missing out on.

Under the banner of PlayStation Talents , a Spanish initiative to give independent developers an opportunity to get their games to retail, these are some unique and wonderful games - and well worth having in your collection just for rarity's sake.

As they're exclusive to GAME Spain stores, you may have difficulty getting a hold of them unless you have a friend help you out or take a trip there yourself. There are some listings on eBay, but prices tend to soar.

US retailer GameStop occasionally publish games themselves, including Duke Nukem 3D's re-release and Song of the Deep - the latter of which was sold exclusively through their store.

Strangely, it also received a European print; for the UK, it was available exclusively on their web store before the site closed down. As such, not many copies of the European version are likely to exist.

Square Enix have themselves begun testing the waters for limited physical gaming; their upcoming title Lost Sphear is digital-only unless you pre-order a tangible copy from their online store.

It's also well worth keeping an eye out on Badlands and SOEDESCO's games, which while available on retail store shelves, may be relatively rare in the future.

As for the single rarest PlayStation 4 game, that award could go to The Lost Bear .

With just a literal handful of unofficial physical cases given out at a gaming event by the developer, The Lost Bear isn't even known to most collectors yet, so finding one of the 13 copies in existence is virtually impossible.

However, as it doesn't include a working disc of the game (just a download code and fake disc), you may decide to give that award to either Toro, Saturday Morning RPG, or Retro Rampage DX.